I joined with the Leonard Cheshire Disability charity in Parliament to back calls for an end to flying 15 minute homecare visits. 

Research by Leonard Cheshire has revealed that at least 33,305 people in England received 15-minute care visits in 2015/16. Of these, 16,311 received them in areas where councils admit to still using ‘flying’ visits for personal care to support people with intimate needs such as washing, dressing and eating.

Personal care visits as short as 15 minutes are not right. For some elderly or disabled people visits offer the only human contact they get all day and such short visits mean choosing between everyday tasks most people take for granted, such as eating or going to the toilet.

As an Ambassador for Sheffield Carers Centre and Patron of Sheffield Young Carers, I’m deeply concerned about the quality of social care. I’ve spoken out on how Government cuts to councils are devastating local social care budgets -; and I’ve challenged companies not paying care workers the National Minimum Wage.

The Government must fund social care properly and end the indignity of 15 minute care visits for vulnerable people.